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Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Torbern Bergman

The Science, Lives and Friendship of Two Pioneers in Chemistry

Authors:

  • Puts the lives of two of the most important chemists historically in the context of 18th-century chemistry
  • Includes an overview of 18th-century chemical terminology
  • Presents biographical and scientific information about Scheele and Bergman is available in English for the first time

Part of the book series: Perspectives on the History of Chemistry (PHC)

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Hardcover Book USD 159.99
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Table of contents (28 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
  2. Introduction

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 1-9
  3. Bergman and Scheele: Childhoods

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 11-24
  4. The Two Men

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 25-43
  5. Bergman’s and Scheele’s Education

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 45-56
  6. Bergman’s Early Scientific Career

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 57-71
  7. Bergman’s Geological Work

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 83-97
  8. Scheele in Malmö

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 99-107
  9. Bergman Becomes a Chemist

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 109-151
  10. Scheele Moves to Stockholm

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 153-158
  11. Bergman as a Teacher

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 159-187
  12. Bergman’s Life as Professor

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 189-192
  13. Scheele in Uppsala

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 193-202
  14. New Mineral Acids

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 203-211
  15. New Metals

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 213-229
  16. The Invitation to Berlin

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 231-234
  17. Bergman and the Chemistry of Mineral Waters

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 235-244
  18. Research on Carbon Dioxide

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 245-251
  19. Scheele in Köping

    • Anders Lennartson
    Pages 253-266

About this book

This book tells the story of two of the most important figures in the history of chemistry. Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786) was the first to prepare oxygen and realise that air is a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen; he also discovered many important organic and inorganic substances. His fellow chemist and good friend, Torbern Bergman (1735–1784), was one of the pioneers in analytical and physical chemistry. In this carefully researched biography, the author, Anders Lennartson, explains the chemistry of Scheele and Bergman while putting their discoveries in the context of other 18th-century chemistry. Much of the information contained in this work is available in English for the first time.

Reviews

“This seems to be one of the first books … which ‘aims to provide volumes that advance the historical knowledge of chemistry and its practice, while also remaining accessible to both scientists and formal historians of science. Volumes should thus be of broad interest to the greater chemical community, while still retaining a high level of historical scholarship’ … . this Plutarchian biography generally meets these criteria and one cannot really ask for more.” (Frank A. J. L. James, Ambix, March 14, 2022)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Gothenburg, Sweden

    Anders Lennartson

About the author

Anders Lennartson received his Ph.D. from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) in 2009 with a thesis concerning the synthesis of optically active compounds from achiral starting materials (absolute asymmetric synthesis). This included the first optical resolution of five- and seven-coordinate metal complexes. After a stay at the University of Southern Denmark working on bioinorganic chemistry and spin crossover and at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) working with chemical storage of solar energy, he returned to the University of Gothenburg as a technician. Anders has published 60 scientific papers and number of popular science papers, mainly on historic subjects. He has written three books in Swedish, including the first modern biography of Carl Wilhelm Scheele, published in 2015. The Chemical Works of Carl Wilhelm Scheele, an analysis of all Scheele's publications, was published by Springer in 2017.


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Torbern Bergman

  • Book Subtitle: The Science, Lives and Friendship of Two Pioneers in Chemistry

  • Authors: Anders Lennartson

  • Series Title: Perspectives on the History of Chemistry

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49194-9

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials Science, Chemistry and Material Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-49193-2Published: 01 September 2020

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-49196-3Published: 01 September 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-49194-9Published: 31 August 2020

  • Series ISSN: 2662-4591

  • Series E-ISSN: 2662-4605

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 433

  • Number of Illustrations: 51 b/w illustrations, 107 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, History of Science

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access